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Yes, I think so, DR. Photo 5 on this site, and Figure 2, B and C on this site shows the tongue stuck to the top fairly clearly. The larva decomposes, but the tongue remains stuck to the cell wall.
Kitta

Yes, I think so, DR. Photo 5 on this site, and Figure 2, B and C on this site shows the tongue stuck to the top fairly clearly. The larva decomposes, but the tongue remains stuck to the cell wall.
Kitta

Hi Kitta and GG
The larva must be dying at a fairly late stage if it has a tongue (I guess) ...

Yes, you're right, DR. To talk about a 'larva' (and I did say that) is wrong - it's 'pupa', as already mentioned in GG's title 'pupal tongue'. As we know, they only die after the cell is sealed and the larva has spun its cocoon. According to Celia Davis, the appendages pop out during the prepupal period (between day 9 to 13). So, it's the tongue stuck to the cell and the prepupa or pupa decaying around it.
Kitta

Got it Kitta
So you think the poor old larva carries on developing to about day 12 then pegs out
That would fit in with Les Bailey "infectious diseases of the honeybee"
Apparently the bacteria doesn't do much in the gut
It's when the larva pupates it can make its way through the gut wall into the haemolymph
Poor old bee
Odd that the tongue doesn't rot with the rest though